Firearms training, and more specifically rifle training, is a key element for supreme rifle craft. Training is an essential element for proficiency in performance with any firearm, and in particular a long gun such as a rifle.
Many shooters, whether in law-enforcement, military or a competition, train with a rifle to be supremely proficient therewith and maximize the shooter's personal performance. Although dry firing with a rifle is an essential component, actual live fire, which incorporates manipulation of a trigger (“breaking the trigger” in common firearm parlance), the actual operation of an action and the feedback of a projectile, namely a bullet impacting a target is an important element of training. However, high-power rifles and particular semi-automatic rifles generally use calibers, which are expensive to shoot. Most high-power rifles utilize centerfire cartridges such as .223, 7.62×39, .308, and .270 to name a few of the more popular centerfire cartridges. However, the cost per round fired for a shooter can be very prohibitive when the shooter is conducting a high volume of training or ammunition expenditure is high in general.
Dry firing (firing a long gun without a live round in the chamber or in the magazine) is a popular option to train many elements of rifle craft, such as transitions, engagement, reloads, trigger mechanics, and a plethora of other elements of high-performance shooting. However, there still remains a need for actual live fire for the shooter.
For certain training elements such as shooting on the move, trigger mechanics work, target transitions and other training aspects, live fire is a critical element of productive training. For example, for training such as shooting on the move, the shooter must undergo a high volume of training to coordinate their steps with breaking the trigger. Mastering this skill can take a large amount of ammunition expenditure to become proficient. Of course, this is one example of why it is important for live fire practice.
At the time of preparation of this application, ammunition prices are rather cost-prohibitive. A common round as noted above is the Winchester .223 and its close derivative, the 5.56 NATO round. Although with economies of scale this particular cartridge used to be relatively reasonable to purchase in volume, through various present factors ammunition prices have nearly doubled and almost tripled. An average cost for a single .223 round can be anywhere between $0.35-0.60. Of course with a heavy practice regimen of for example 1000 rounds, the cost of a training session for the ammunition alone can be $350-$600.
However, the tried-and-true rimfire .22 long rifle has remained at a relatively steady predictable price. This extremely popular and tried-and-true round has been available in the marketplace for decades and has a solid reputation for dependability and general utility. Although other rimfire cartridges are on the market and of course can be utilized in the broader scope of the teachings of the disclosure below (along with other centerfire rounds), by far and away the .22 long rifle round remains an economical form of firing a round. At the time of this preparation, .22 long rifle is available in bricks of 550 from a cost range anywhere between $13 to $26 US. This of course provides a cost per round of about $0.02-0.04 per round (where of course the marketplace provides more costly ammunition with balance bullets, precision measured powder loads, and other features which provide more expensive .22 ammunition for precision shooting).
With regard to high-power rifles, a very common tactical rifle utilized by law-enforcement, military and competitive shooting is the AR-15 platform. While several different tactical rifles are sold, modified, and used in the field, tactical rifles differ from sport rifles in their use of a pistol style grip in addition to a forward hand grip and butt stock. The AR-15 rifle system in particular has many derivatives, such as the AR-10 which is provided in .308 caliber, the M-4, and a plethora of other variants. In general, the AR-15 rifle platform is somewhat modular and generally comprises a lower receiver, a trigger group in the lower receiver, an upper receiver, a hand guard, a pistol grip and a butt stock. The upper and lower receiver elements are at the central foundational structural components where the external components including the hand guard, pistol grip and the butt stock are attached thereto (namely, the pistol grip and butt stock attached to the lower receiver and the hand guard attached to the upper receiver surrounding the barrel itself). The trigger group or trigger assembly is housed within the lower receiver, where various aftermarket triggers such as triggers from JP Enterprises™ can be placed therein. Therefore, it can be appreciated that most shooters have become accustomed to the hand guard, pistol grip and butt stock. Further, a necessary attachment to their rifle is some form of an optic or sighting system. Although iron sights are still utilized in some degree, generally the trend in the firearms industry is to utilize an optic such as an Acog, EO-Tech, Elcan, and a variety of magnified objects to maximize performance of the rifle. For example, a common training system is providing an Acog attached to the upper receiver and further providing a red dot system such as a J-Point provided by JP Enterprises™ attached thereto. This specific setup allows for quick acquisition of a target with the J-Point reflect optic, and further allows better accuracy through the Acog at, for example, longer distances over 50 yards. The fundamental point is that it is very important that shooters train with the same or very similar platform as to the platform that will be used in performance.
A common .22 long rifle action is the Ruger® 10-22. This tried-and-true rifle system has been utilized in various derivatives for decades. The .22 long rifle system is relatively inexpensive and can be purchased for between $200-$350 for a complete rifle. Further, the Ruger® 10-22 has various aftermarket magazines and certain reloading components, such as the Butler Creek reloader providing quick and convenient reloading of magazines, in particular when a shooter is conducting a higher round count volume training session, say of 300 to 500 rounds. The term “10-22” for this disclosure is defined as the rifle manufactured by Rueger® at the time of invention. Similarly, the term “10-22 action” for this disclosure is defined as the action manufactured by Rueger® for the 10-22 rifle at the time of invention.
Therefore, there is a need in the marketplace for a platform conversion for a long gun with all of the external components of a high-power rifle but yet utilize an inexpensive cartridge which in one form is a rimfire .22 long rifle. A further element to be considered is the accuracy of a converted rifle. Therefore, provided in one form is a system where the elements that engage the shooter, such as the butt stock, pistol grip, and hand guard and all the forces upon these components are directly transmitted to (for example) a main stock which can be attached to a Ruger® 10-22 action. As described in detail herein, having an optic mount separate from a main stock and directly attached to the Ruger® 10-22 can provide better accuracy, whereby the relationship between the optic or otherwise the sighting system and the action and barrel is a direct connection and is not to be interfered with by any forces applied to the gun by the shooter. In other words, the fewer connections between the optic and the chamber provides for a more direct desirable arrangement to enhance accuracy.